My sister asked me to make her a note board with chicken wire on the back for her classroom and of course I said I would. The one I'm about to share with you isn't what I made her, I will share that with you another time. So....I had already been thinking for quite some time about what I can do with the wooden frames that are behind a stretched canvas. There are many canvases that for many reasons I've ripped off the wooden framing and well....I just couldn't bring myself to throwing them away. You know that thinking...."I can make something with that!" Last year I did actually use them and made up some signs for the holiday booth I do with a friend each year. They turned out really cool and were the perfect, lightweight framing that we needed.
Here are the steps I took to create it and at the very end, I list all of the supplies I used.
Well, of course the framing is just that ~ plain wood ~ so of course it needed some sprucing up!
I gave the frame a very thin coating of DecoArt Media Modeling Paste and let that completely dry. Next, I took a DecoArt Americana Stencil ~ Brocade and Berries and using a palette knife applied modeling paste over the stencil, onto the frame and TA DA!! SO love the way it turned out. Added the design around the entire frame and let that dry completely. Don't try and speed up the process with a heat gun or blow dryer - it really is just best to go get busy on the next project and leave this to dry.
Next, I painted it with DecoArt Chalky Finish Paint - Escape using a 1" Faux Squirrel brush by Dynasty. It only took one coat and covered beautifully! Let it completely dry and then....
I painted a very watery layer of DecoArt Chalky Finish Paint - Rustic over the top. Mix the water and paint on a palette until you get an inky/watery consistency. After I quickly painted over the entire frame, I took a soft cloth and wiped a lot of the watery paint away. The longer you leave it the darker the color will stain the blue paint already on the frame. If you wipe too much away, reload the brush with the watery paint, reapply and wipe back off with the soft cloth. Let completely dry!
For the next step I highly recommend wearing really sturdy working gloves. The chicken wire likes to knick ya and make you bleed :( They sell Hardware Cloth that is in the shape of squares and would work great. You could attach a sheet of cork to the back and make it into a cork board or even a dry erase board if you don't want to mess with the chicken wire.
I cut to shape with wire cutters (very important - don't use your really good scissors), turned the frame over and stapled in place. Staple one side, stretch the wire across to the other side and staple in a couple of places. Repeat for the top and bottom as you stretch the wire so that it doesn't sag in the center. Once I stapled the entire piece down, I cut strips of foam (you can get sheets of it in the kids section at any craft store) and hot glued them to the back of the frame. I wanted to make sure I protected my wall and fingers from the wires.
Well.....in true "Sandy Style" it just had to have more! So, using my finger I rubbed some DecoArt Metallic Lustre - Silver Spark over the frame lightly and let it pick up on the raised design I created with the stencil. LOVED it ~ so LEFT it! Next, I buffed it with a soft towel and brought up more of the Lustre shine.
Next, I tied a brown organza ribbon to the top (attached to the top of the chicken wire) and it was ready to hang! Now, I have to find an empty space on my wall in my studio to hang it!
SUPPLIES:
Wooden Frame that I took an ugly painting off of (yes it was mine and a very old one that just needed to go)
Brushes: 1" Flat
DecoArt Media Modeling Paste
DecoArt Chalky Finish Paint: Escape & Rustic
DecoArt Metallic Lustre - Silver Spark
Chicken Wire
Soft Cloth
Wire Cutters
Ribbon
Bandaids - yes I used 4
Heavy work gloves (if I had used them I wouldn't have needed 4 bandaids)
Clothespins
Hope you ENJOY creating a message board of your own! I'll share the one I made for my sister once I've given it to her! Have a great weekend and Happy Painting!
Sandy
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